It is hard to imagine that only 150 years ago the Sunshine Coast was a land without roads and the inhabitants lived in a world without wheels.
In 1859, when the new state of Queensland was separated from New South Wales, the road north from Brisbane was extended and made good but only as far as Caboolture. Then when gold was discovered at Gympie in 1867, there was some sort of road from Caboolture to Gympie but this was often impassable in inclement weather due to deep mud. It was said the ‘road’ was often a quagmire, especially between Caboolture and Glass House Mountains. Wheels of drays were often buried to the axle in mud for a hundred yards at a stretch.
The first Cobb and Co coach from Brisbane to Gympie took place on November 12/13, 1868. The coach changed horses, about 10 times, consequently a good many horses and fodder were needed at the various stages of the journey.
Damage to the road was made worse by wheels of drays and coaches, and this prompted Caboolture Divisional Board to enforce a wheel tax to help with the cost of road upkeep. A narrow three-inch tyre was taxed three times as much as a six-inch tyre, on the grounds that a narrow tyre cut the roads about more than the wider six-inch tyre. The cost of a licence for three-inch wheel was 17/6 per year. However, in some years due to drought and other hardships the tax was suspended. This happened in 1896, when the wheel tax collected in 1895 was refunded, and collection for 1896 suspended altogether.
Never-the-less, the idea of a vehicle licence was born and today we have the all too familiar and expensive ‘Rego’ allowing us to use Queensland roads.